Many different materials have been used for recreational surfaces in the past, and such use often depends upon the sport for which it is used. The game of basketball was only invented around 1891 in Massachusetts by a physical education instructor. James Naismith, and used peach baskets mounted to walls of a gym. Today basketball is still largely played indoors on wood floors, but is also played outdoors primarily on asphalt courts. The game of tennis has a more storied history. Early versions of tennis are attributed to monks playing a hand ball game in the 11th or 12th century in France, known as jeu de paume (“game of the palm”), which was played over a rope strung across a courtyard. By the 1500s an early version of a wooden racquet was used, and the game evolved into what was known as Real Tennis during the 1600s, which was played indoors using a net, and which permitted play off of the waits. By the 1850s, the vulcanization of rubber led to the use of rubber tennis balls on an outdoor court, instead of the leather-covered balls previously used indoors. In 1874, Walter Clopton Wingfleld received U.S. Pat. No. 157,259 for “a new and Improved Portable Court for Playing the Ancient Game of Tennis,” which resembles the shape of the court used today. However, the shape of the court was modified slightly for Lawn Tennis after Winfield received his patent, and the sport was adopted by Wimbledon's All England Croquet Club in 1880.
Grass was the playing surface of choice for a long period of time. In fact, up until the 1970s, three out of the four Grand Slam Tennis tournaments were played on grass, including Wimbledon, the Australian Open, and the U.S. Open. The use of Clay (crushed shale, stone, or brick) for tennis courts was predominantly found in Spain and Italy, and remains the surface used in Roland Garros Stadium for the French Open.
Acrylic tennis court surfaces were not used for tennis tournaments until the 1940s, but are widely used today, and such cushioned acrylic courts are now used at both the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. These cushioned surfaces are also now commonly used for track and field surfaces, and some outdoor basketball courts.
Today's acrylic/rubber sports surfaces are formed with a concrete or asphalt base that is covered with one or more layers to seal the base, and to provide some cushioning. Those recreational surfaces must be resurfaced periodically—commonly every four to eight years depending on usage and maintenance factors. If the court has not been carefully maintained, moss, mold, and fungus may have infiltrated the structure, which may require additional attention (equipment and chemicals for removal). Any cracks that have formed in the concrete or asphalt base would require patching. Also, courts with an asphalt base tend to develop low spots known as birdbaths, which also tend to require patching.
However, these playing surfaces that are used at stadiums that host premier sporting events, such as the U.S. Open Tennis Championship, are desirably resurfaced every year, with additional of layers of material placed upon the existing top surface. Periodically, removal of the accumulated multitude of layers must be accomplished with due care not to cause damage to the underlying base, but must also be completed in a timely manner. The present invention is conceived and constructed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency at which the multiple layers of material may be removed.